Top 10 Smartphones of the Year – 2014

2014 was a full action-packed year for smartphone traders. There was not only the upheaval of mid-budget Android smartphones, but also the arrival of premium flagship smartphones from different manufacturers. The top smartphone makers made sure their best effort in smartphone making was delivered to the customers. The new features in both hardware and software were added to let users taste the latest phoning experience. In April this year, we released an apparent list of top ten smartphones. In this new list, some smartphones from our previous list have also been included. Now, we’ve completed our final list of top 10 smartphones of 2014. Please have a look.

The Nexus 6 was considered as Google’s flagship smartphone model of this year. It’s one of the first Android devices that released with Android Lollipop 5.0 OS update. Google Nexus 6, developed by Motorola, boasts a Quad HD 6″ Super AMOLED display that made it even larger than Samsung Galaxy Note 4. Many may find it too big to comfort with, however, ‘phablet’ lovers will certainly love it! It comes with a 13MP rear camera which can capture stunning photos. The device has gigantic storage of 32 and 64GB. The Google Nexus 6 runs on a 2.7 GHz quad-core processor, has 3 GB of RAM. With having such specs, the device definitely defeated other devices in the race. As the device was developed by Motorola, it seems that there was a bit of similarity with some of the features of Motorola’s Moto X device. It has 2 MP front-facing camera as the Moto X’s. But on the Nexus 6, these cameras have a dual-recording mode that permits you to use both camera at the same time! Another interesting thing is, it has dual front-facing speakers that makes good quality sound. It may help music and game lovers. Moreover, the biggest matter is, this device runs on the one and only Android L 5.0 that makes it different from other Android devices.

2. iPhone 6 Plus

Some may not agree with us. For several reasons we found that this device should be placed in number 2. It has comparatively lower specs than other top smartphones. Release of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus was focus of the Apple’s competitor. There were lots of debates about whether Apple could fulfill user’s expectation. And more interestingly, few move of Apple was criticized by critics, users and even competitors. The critics said that Apple was still in 2012 as some of its configurations are equal to Android devices that was released in 2012. However, the new iOS 6 was praised too. Apple’s new security features were also highly praised. The user reviews were mixed. Yet, iPhone 6 Plus won the second place for its exceptional features, strong security system, innovative design and the iOS 6. It was Apple’s different stake. By releasing iPhone 6 Plus, Apple also entered into the race of bigger devices. This device boasts with a 1080p 5.5″ display and packs optical image stabilization in its 8 MP camera while the front facing camera is 1.2 MP. The panoramic pictures can be as big as 43 megapixels and HD video can also be shot. It has a bigger battery that will provide 24 hours backup. One of its attractive feature is its awesome speed that is powered by 64-bit A8 processor with m8 motion co-processor. This processor really makes a difference and makes the device almost 50% faster than iPhone 5S. The biggest advantage of using iPhone devices is the huge numbers of apps. The App Store has more than 1.3 million apps that can be downloaded in iPhone 6 Plus. Many more developers are contributing to make this store even more richer. The newest and largest ever iPhone comes with either 16, 64 or 128 GB of storage. Since the no iPhone ever supports memory card, Apple suggested users to choose 64 GB version of iPhone 6 Plus instead of 16 GB, if user thinks 16 GB is not sufficient.

3. Motorola Moto X (second generation)

There has been a great competition over the months this year, you see? It was really hard to choose a particular smartphone to place in the list. Motorola’s Moto X (2nd generation) was one of the popular and attractive smartphones of 2014. This device also created lots of buzz like its predecessor. Many think that it put-up Motorola in the smartphone race again. The original Moto X was also very popular. The new Moto X 2 has larger 5.2 screen, and has a 1080p full HD display. The device also boasts with 13 MP main camera and 2 MP secondary camera that can capture quality pictures. This device has built-in app to help user to control the device smoothly. The phone ring can be silent by waving with hand. It understands voice commands better than ever. The main lacking of this device is, its highest storage capacity is up to 16 GB. The battery will be alive for up to 24 hours. The device runs on Android 4.4 KitKat.

4. Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Samsung’s flagship device Galaxy Note 4 was released in October this year. Many may call Galaxy Note 4 as ‘phablet’ as it is bigger than a standard smartphone and smaller than a tablet. The phablet lover find it very suitable, but the others may say its too large. However, this device is smaller than Google Nexus 6! It boasts a screen of 5.7 inch with a qHD display (2560×1440). A new sensitive S pen is given with the Galaxy Note 4 using which people can write on the screen as an alternative of typing! The biggest cons is this newest Galaxy Note device offers a little improvement over its predecessor. The configuration is better than Galaxy Note 3, but the basic design has not been changed. It runs on 2.7 GHz quad-core CPU, has 32 GB of storage and 3 GB of RAM. Unlike iPhone or Moto X, external microSD card, up to 128 GB, can be inserted into it. It has a 16 MP rear camera and 3.7 MP front camera for which it can defeat its competitors. The phone promises a battery life of up to 21 hours and most importantly, it can charge itself up to 50% within 30 minutes!

After successfully making money from LG G2, the South Korean smartphone giant LG released LG G3 in August this year. It has also a larger screen of 5.5 inch with an awesome qHD display. A smoothy decorated smartphone LG G3 provides vibrant image that makes playing and movie moments comfortable. It has a 13 MP rear camera and 2.1 MP front facing camera. The rear camera can be used to capture image and shoot videos at the same time! The selfie-friendly device will be appreciated to the selfie lovers. And both main and front-facing cameras can be run at the same time! It runs on Android 4.4 Kitkat and a 2.5 GHz quad core processor. It has 3GB RAM and 32 GB default storage that can be expanded by inserting additional microSD of up to 128 GB. Like Samsung Galaxy Note 4, this device also provides a battery life of 21 hours.

6. Samsung Galaxy S5

Comparatively, the design of Samsung Galaxy S5 can lead to some of its user’s disappointment. Like Samsung Galaxy Note 4, a little improvement in design of Galaxy S5 was made. At the first sight, you may be confused as the design of Galaxy S5 and S4 is almost same. However, this device is really faster than previous Galaxy S devices. It comes with a 2.5 GHz quad-core processor and runs on Android 4.4 KitKat. The screen size, 5.1″, is a bit of larger than S4. It has also 16 MP rear camera and 2 MP secondary camera. It offers finger-print scanner and Amoled 1080p display both of which are dust-proof and water-resistant. The S5 boasts 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage and it can take microSD of up to 128 GB.

7. HTC One (M8)

For many of us, HTC One (M8), released in March this year, should be kept in updated list of top 10 smartphones of 2014. They are not wrong indeed. Because HTC One (M8) boasts a superb metal design, interface with slim sense UI, and superb speakers! It’s a fast device with having 2.5 GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and expandable 32 GB storage. Its 5″ screen with 1920 x 1080 pixel display make videos and pictures look really good! It has has a luxurious beautiful home-screen with BlinkFeed interface that turns its home-screen colorful. Its responsive virtual keyboard works smoothly. The battery life of HTC One M8 is around 20 hours. It roars with 5MP front-facing camera that is really ‘selfie friendly’. But it has a rear 4 MP sensor camera, though it works good. It has in-camera editing feature that offers users to edit their photos after capturing.

8. Sony Xperia Z3

Sony Xperia Z3 is one of the first Android Kitkat powered Android devices that is expected to get an Android Lollipop 5 updates in the new year. It roars with a gigantic 20.7 MP main camera and 2.2 MP secondary camera. For the picture and selfie lovers, it’s a great phone indeed. Like Samsung Galazy S5, it’s display is also dust and water resistant. For game lovers, it added an attractive feature. Xperia Z3 offers users to integrate with the PlayStation 4 via remote play. You can play PS4 games on this device. It boasts a 5.15″ full HD display. The device comes with a 2.5 GHz quad-processor, 3 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage. A microSD of up to 128 GB can be inserted inside this device. However, the battery life is its disadvantage. It offers a 16 hours of battery life.

9. OnePlus One

Branded as the ‘flagship destroyer’ the OnePlus One really became a threat to giant manufacturers in different markets. This device created buzz with its high-end hardware configurations and stunning design like renown smartphones but at half the price. Not only has the phone a performance powerhorse, it has also a very well offering with equal impulse on form factor. Unlike flagship smartphones, it doesn’t boast an metal chassis or water and dust protector shell. However, OnePlus One is a well-designed and decorated phone indeed. The OnePlus One comes with CyanogenMod version of Android OS that is renown for its customizability, improved performance and other features. The OnePlus One boast a 1080p 5.5-inch screen, and has a 13MP main camera.

10. Nokia Lumia 930

The Nokia Lumia 930 is the only windows OS powered device in this list. Some may prefer Lumia 830. But since, Nokia Lumia 930 is higher-end device, it should be placed. It’s one of the few premium Windows smartphones that can fight neck and neck against other competitor. It runs on Windows OS 8.1 and 2.2 GHz quad-core CPU, has 2 GB of RAM. It offers 32 GB of internal storage, but doesn’t take external microSD. In Nokia Lumia 930, Microsoft included personal assistant ‘Cortana’ that is similar to iPhone’s Siri. It lets users to do every task using voice. The device roars with dual-flash 20 MP rear camera and 1.2 MP front-facing camera. It’s really a great phone for those who love to take pictures. In addition, Microsoft offers months of free Skype calls to mobiles and landlines worldwide. It also offers 7GB of free OneDrive online storage and additional cloud storage. The one and only Microsoft office also comes built-in with this device. The phone looks beautiful, colorful and stunning. The device supports 4G network also.